General Care Discussion :: Turtle basking late?

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 12:12 am   Turtle basking late?

Hi everyone, I raised my RES as a hatchling and now that it's about 3 years old, it prefers begging in the day and basking in the evening. Growing up it used to bask all day normally, but now it waits until 6 pm in the evening before even thinking about basking. For most of the day it just begs. While a little overweight, I adjust his diet to mostly lettuce with a small pinch of pellets. He already had one major scute shedding phase.
Is there something wrong with my turtle or is it normal for that to happen?

Here is a picture of him basking at 9pm.
http://i.imgur.com/hADqGkA.jpg
anonya
 
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Post Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 11:11 pm   Re: Turtle basking late?

Is the heat/lights off at that time?
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steve
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Post Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 2:02 pm   Re: Turtle basking late?

The light is on in that picture and time. I make sure to wake up early and monitor the circadian rhythm of my turtle. Around 9am every day he's already begging for breakfast, but continues for the rest of the day even with the light on and a hearty meal until around evening when he decides to bask. I am worried he isn't getting enough sunlight even if I ensure it is available for up to 10 hours.
anonya
 
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Post Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 11:46 pm   Re: Turtle basking late?

Are those lights on a timer? Maybe try to get his day started a bit earlier.
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steve
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 11:49 pm   Re: Turtle basking late?

Is 9am really that late? I'll try getting those lights on earlier and see what happens.
anonya
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 11:51 pm   Re: Turtle basking late?

No, but my RES usually want to eat as soon as they wake up :)
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steve
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Post Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 12:48 am   Re: Turtle basking late?

Well it turns out it didn't really help, but now my turtle basks and sleeps if I keep the light on late, even though it doesn't line up with his circadian rhythm... Should I just let it happen or try to change it?
anonya
 
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Post Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 5:44 am   Re: Turtle basking late?

What about feeding him sooner and cutting off the lights earlier?
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steve
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